Career

She was based in Geneva in 1987 working for The Hindu. Working out of Switzerland and Sweden, she got hold of the 300-plus documents which showed that the Swedish arms manufacturer, Bofors, had paid massive kickbacks to Indians, including the then Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi and others for the gun deal. For nearly one year she investigated the scandal, and sent back reports regularly to The Hindu. Due to political pressure, The Hindu finally ceased publication of her story and Chitra resigned and went to the Indian Express.

For her work she has received several journalism awards including the prestigious B.D. Goenka Award and the Chameli Devi Award. She is the author of several books, including; India is for Sale, a New York Times, best seller.